Comments on ‘Is Partial Coherence a Viable Technique for Identifying Generators of Neural Oscillations?’

To aid prospective neural connectivity inference analysts and hoping to preclude misconception spread, we exploit the didatic value of some of the issues raised by Albo et al. (Biol Cybern 90: 318–326, 2004) who claim that signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values can lead to mistakes in structural inference when using partial coherence in connection to Gersch’s 1970 method for spotting signal sources (Gersch in Math Biosci 14: 177– 196, 1972). We show theoretically that Gersch’s method is able only to spot which measurement of some common underlying factor has the least amount of additive noise and that this has nothing to do with any reasonable notion of ‘causality’ as suggested by Albo et al. (Biol Cybern 90: 318–326, 2004). We also show that despite the inherent structural ambiguity of the model used by Albo et al. (Biol Cybern 90: 318–326, 2004) to back their claim, its data can nonetheless furnish the correct time precedence hierarchy between the activities in its measured structures, both when simple (correlation) and more sophisticated methods are used (partial directed coherence) (Baccala and Sameshima in Biol Cybern 84:463–474, 2001a) in a true depiction of time series causality.     

Effect of green tea powder (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Camellia sinensis</Emphasis> L. cv. Benifuuki) particle size on <Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>-methylated EGCG absorption in rats; The Kakegawa Study

Tea polyphenols, e.g., (-)-epigallocatechin-3-O-(3-O-methyl gallate (EGCG3”Me), (-)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epicatechin-3-O-gallate (ECG), and (-)-epicatechin (EC), are believed to be responsible for the beneficial effects of tea. ‘Benifuuki’, a tea (Camellia sinensis L.) cultivar grown in Japan, is rich in the anti-allergic molecule epigallocatechin-3-O-(3-O-methyl) gallate (EGCG3”Me). Pulverized Benifuuki green tea powder (BGP) is more widely distributed than leaf tea in Japan. Japanese people mix their pulverized tea with water directly, whereas it is common to drink leaf tea after extraction. However, few studies of the effects of BGP particle size on polyphenol bioavailability have been performed. This study was conducted to investigate the absorption of catechins in rats after the intragastric administration of Benifuuki green tea. Therefore, we assessed the plasma concentrations of catechins following the ingestion of BGP with different mean particle sizes (2.86, 18.6, and 76.1 μm) or Benifuuki green tea infusion (BGI) as a control in rats. The bioavailabilities of EGCG3”Me, EGCG, ECG, EGC, and EC were analyzed after the oral administration of a single dose of Benifuuki green tea (125 mg/rat) to rats. The plasma concentrations of tea catechins were determined by HPLC analysis combined with of electrochemical detection (ECD) using a coulometric array. The AUC (area under the drug concentration versus time curve; min μg/mL) of ester-type catechins (EGCG3”Me, EGCG, and ECG) for the BGP 2.86 μm were significantly higher than those in the infusion and 18.6 and 76.1 μm BGP groups, but the AUC of free-type catechins (EGC and EC) showed no differences between these groups. Regarding the peak plasma level of EGCG3”Me adjusted for intake, BGP 2.86 μm and BGI showed higher values than the BGP 18.6 and 76.1 μm groups, and the peak plasma levels of the other catechins displayed the same tendency. The present study demonstrates that the bioavailability of ester-type catechins (EGCG and ECG) can be improved by reducing the particle size of green tea, but the plasma level of EGCG3”Me in the BGI group was similar to that in the BGP 2.86 μm group. This result suggests that drinking Benifuuki green tea with a particle size of around 2 μm would deliver the anti-allergic EGCG3”Me and the anti-oxidant EGCG efficiently.     

Conidia of the tomato powdery mildew <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oidium neolycopersici</Emphasis> initiate germ tubes at a predetermined site

The emergence of germ tubes from the conidia of powdery mildew fungi is the first morphological event of the infection process, preceding appressoria formation, peg penetration and primary haustoria formation. Germination patterns of the conidia are specific in powdery mildew fungi and therefore considered useful for identification. In the present study, we examined conidial germination of the tomato powdery mildew Oidium neolycopersici KTP-01 in order to clarify whether germ tube emergence site in KTP-01 conidia is determined by the first contact of the conidia to leaves (as found for the conidia of barley powdery mildew), or alternatively is predetermined and is unrelated to contact stimulus. Highly germinative conidia of KTP-01 were collected from conidial pseudochains on conidiophores in colonies on tomato leaves using two methods involving an electrostatic spore attractor and a blower. In the electrostatic spore attraction method, the conidia were attracted to the electrified insulator probe of the spore collector—this being the first contact stimulus for the conidia. In addition, the blowing method was used as a model of natural infection; pseudochain conidia were transferred to detached leaves by air (1 m/s) from a blower. Thus, landing on the leaves was the first contact for the conidia. Furthermore, conidia were also blown onto an artificial membrane (Parafilm-coated glass slides forming a hydrophobic surface) or solidified agar plates in Petri dishes (hydrophilic surface). Eventually, almost all conidia on the probe and on tomato leaves or artificial hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces synchronously germinated within 6 h of incubation, indicating that the first contact of the conidia with any of the aforementioned substrata was an effective germination induction signal. Germ tube emergence sites were exclusively subterminal on the conidia. Moreover, the germ tubes emerged without any relation to the sites touched first on the conidia. Thus, the present study strongly indicates that conidia of O. neolycopersici produce germ tubes at a predetermined site.     

The feasibility of age-specific travel restrictions during influenza pandemics

Background

Epidemiological studies have shown that imposing travel restrictions to prevent or delay an influenza pandemic may not be feasible. To delay an epidemic substantially, an extremely high proportion of trips (~99%) would have to be restricted in a homogeneously mixing population. Influenza is, however, strongly influenced by age-dependent transmission dynamics, and the effectiveness of age-specific travel restrictions, such as the selective restriction of travel by children, has yet to be examined.

Methods

A simple stochastic model was developed to describe the importation of infectious cases into a population and to model local chains of transmission seeded by imported cases. The probability of a local epidemic, and the time period until a major epidemic takes off, were used as outcome measures, and travel restriction policies in which children or adults were preferentially restricted were compared to age-blind restriction policies using an age-dependent next generation matrix parameterized for influenza H1N1-2009.

Results

Restricting children from travelling would yield greater reductions to the short-term risk of the epidemic being established locally than other policy options considered, and potentially could delay an epidemic for a few weeks. However, given a scenario with a total of 500 imported cases over a period of a few months, a substantial reduction in the probability of an epidemic in this time period is possible only if the transmission potential were low and assortativity (i.e. the proportion of contacts within-group) were unrealistically high. In all other scenarios considered, age-structured travel restrictions would not prevent an epidemic and would not delay the epidemic for longer than a few weeks.

Conclusions

Selectively restricting children from traveling overseas during a pandemic may potentially delay its arrival for a few weeks, depending on the characteristics of the pandemic strain, but could have less of an impact on the economy compared to restricting adult travelers. However, as long as adults have at least a moderate potential to trigger an epidemic, selectively restricting the higher risk group (children) may not be a practical option to delay the arrival of an epidemic substantially.     

Fetal breathing, sleep state, and cardiovascular responses to graded anemia in sheep

Graded anemia was produced for 2 h in 10 unanesthetized fetal sheep by infusing plasma in exchange for fetal blood. This reduced the mean fetal hematocrits during the 1st h of anemia to 19.7 +/- 0.5% [control (C) = 28.2 +/- 1.1%] for mild anemia, 17.4 +/- 0.9% (C = 30.0 +/- 1.1%) for moderate anemia, and 15.1 +/- 1.0% (C = 29.2 +/- 1.3%) for severe anemia. The respective mean arterial O2 contents (CaO2) were 4.46 +/- 0.20, 3.89 +/- 0.24, and 3.22 +/- 0.19 ml/dl. Mean arterial PO2 was reduced significantly (by 2 Torr) only during moderate anemia, and mean arterial pH was decreased only during severe anemia. No significant changes occurred in arterial PCO2. Fetal tachycardia occurred during anemia. Mean arterial pressure was reduced by 2-3 mmHg during mild anemia; however, no significant blood pressure changes were observed for moderate or severe anemia. The incidence of rapid-eye movements and breathing activity was not affected by mild anemia, but the incidence of both was reduced significantly during moderate and severe anemia. It is concluded that 1) a reduction in CaO2 of greater than 2.48 +/- 0.22 ml/dl by hemodilution inhibits rapid-eye movements and breathing activity, and 2) the PO2 signal for inhibition does not come from arterial blood but from lower PO2 in tissue.     

Fetal breathing, sleep state, and cardiovascular responses to graded hypoxia in sheep

We studied changes in glycosaminoglycan content and concentration during postresectional compensatory lung growth in adult male rats. After right trilobectomy, left lung dry weight was normal at 4 days, increased 74% between 4 and 7 days, and more slowly over the next week. Total glycosaminoglycan content per milligram dry lung weight increased early and rapidly, reaching 189% of the control value at 4 days postresection. The magnitude and temporal pattern of increase was different for different glycosaminoglycan subtypes. Hyaluronate and chondroitin sulfate content were increased by 198 and 113%, respectively, at 4 days, with no further increases subsequently. Heparan sulfate content increased more slowly and steadily, and dermatan sulfate concentrations did not change. At 4 days, the percent of total glycosaminoglycans that was hyaluronate was almost doubled, whereas the percent that was heparan sulfate was decreased; by day 7 the percent compositions had returned to normal. We conclude that changes in glycosaminoglycans occur early in postresectional lung growth and speculate that they may play a facilitatory role.     

Football- and bullet-shaped GroEL-GroES complexes coexist during the reaction cycle

GroEL is an Escherichia coli chaperonin that is composed of two heptameric rings stacked back-to-back. GroEL assists protein folding with its cochaperonin GroES in an ATP-dependent manner in vitro and in vivo. However, it is still unclear whether GroES binds to both rings of GroEL simultaneously under physiological conditions. In this study, we monitored the GroEL-GroES interaction in the reaction cycle using fluorescence resonance energy transfer. We found that nearly equivalent amounts of symmetric GroEL-(GroES)(2) (football-shaped) complex and asymmetric GroEL-GroES (bullet-shaped) complex coexist during the functional reaction cycle. We also found that D398A, an ATP hydrolysis defective mutant of GroEL, forms a football-shaped complex with ATP bound to the two rings. Furthermore, we showed that ADP prevents the association of ATP to the trans-ring of GroEL, and as a consequence, the second GroES cannot bind to GroEL. Considering the concentrations of ADP and ATP in E. coli, ADP is expected to have a small effect on the inhibition of GroES binding to the trans-ring of GroEL in vivo. These results suggest that we should reconsider the chaperonin-mediated protein-folding mechanism that involves the football-shaped complex.     

Visualization of the reconstituted FRGY2-mRNA complexes by electron microscopy

Xenopus oocytes store large quantities of translationally dormant mRNA in the cytoplasm as storage messenger ribonucleoprotein particles (mRNPs). The Y-box proteins, mRNP3 and FRGY2/mRNP4, are major RNA binding components of maternal storage mRNPs in oocytes. In this study, we show that the FRGY2 proteins form complexes with mRNA, which leads to mRNA stabilization and translational repression. Visualization of the FRGY2-mRNA complexes by electron microscopy reveals that FRGY2 packages mRNA into a compact RNP. Our results are consistent with a model that the Y-box proteins function in packaging of mRNAs to store them stably for a long time in the oocyte cytoplasm.